President Barack Obama announced federal initiatives today that would make more capital available to rural businesses, better connect entrepreneurs to private investors, help rural workers with job training, and improve rural health care.

Rural business capital

The U.S. Small Business Administration, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plans to make $350 million in capital available to rural businesses. The government works with private investors to drive capital to rural opportunities and emerging markets such as clean energy

Connecting venture capitalists

The agencies also plan to launch a series of nationwide conferences that connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural start-ups. Rural capital “marketing teams” also will pitch federal funding opportunities to private investors.

Training services

Federal labor job search and training services will be expanded to 2,800 USDA field offices nationwide to reduce the distance that rural job-seekers would need to travel for employment information.

Loan repayment for rural physicians

A loan repayment program that helps rural hospitals recruit new physicians will be expanded. It’s expected to help bring doctors to more than 1,300 small U.S. hospitals. The administration says one primary-care doctor generates about $1.5 million in annual revenue in a rural community and creates 23 jobs annually.

Technology plan for rural hospitals

Rural hospitals and clinicians will be linked to loan programs that enable them to purchase health-information technology. Now, rural hospitals tend to have lower financial operating margins and limited capital to make investments needed to purchase hardware, software and other equipment.

Small business act to benefit Iowa

Also announced today: $13.2 million for three Iowa programs that could leverage up to $132 million in financing for entrepreneurs and small companies.

The Iowa Department of Economic Development said Monday it applied for and received State Small Business Credit Initiative funding, available through Obama’s Small Business Jobs Act.

Under the program, $5 million will go into the state’s demonstration fund, used to help entrepreneurs commercialize promising products; $5 million will go to help reduce the reserves that private lenders need for riskier loans; and $3.2 million will go toward micro loans, used along with other private loans, that target under-served minority and low-income communities.